1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to computers, and more particularly to a method of detecting a failure, correction and failover, and masking in SMBus or I2C networks.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A common interface used in computer systems, including computer storage systems is the so-called “SMBus”, Inter-IC bus or I2C bus. I2C is commonly used to connect devices that need to share information. A typical setup includes a master and a slave device. When both devices have the capability to be master devices, two (2) I2C buses are often used with each device acting as both a master device on a first bus and a slave on the second bus. This allows both devices to send messages when needed.
I2C is known to have reliability problems. First, failure can be caused by damaged hardware, which can result in a non-recoverable error. In general, the typical response to a master device not receiving a response from a slave device is to simply retry the connection. An I2C failure can cause a significant disruption for a computer system. For example, an I2C failure in a storage subsystem can incur delays and require a large increase in computing resources. Regular two-way communication is important to ensure proper operation.